


Hold Me Tight

by DrizzlyMango



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Amber Lead Syndrome, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Childhood Trauma, EMT law, Flevance, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Gangs, Gen, Genocide, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, LawLu - Freeform, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Mystery, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Assault, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Sexual Slavery, Slavery, Tattoos, Touch-Averse, broke college kids, clubs gone wrong, i'll add tags as this goes, mentions of gangs, slave brands, study abroad, vitiligo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26683918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrizzlyMango/pseuds/DrizzlyMango
Summary: A modern AU where Law is a suffering Grad student with a dark past. The future looks bleak for everyone dwelling in Grandline City. From everyday stress and struggles of college kids to the dark underworkings that have built the foundation of the city, it's only a matter of time before things go belly up. Of course Luffy is right in the middle, dragging Law under with him.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 7
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the tags if any of that makes you uncomfortable please love yourself and don't force yourself to read it. I care a lot about everyones mental health and don't want anyone to get stressed, or anxious, or the likes so please take care of yourselves. 
> 
> I didn't use the archive warning... yet. I may change it depending on how the next chapters turn out.

Law glared at the medical book in front of him. The opened pages of pinned anatomical structures with the underlying conditions and emotionless facts waited patiently, they sure as hell weren’t going anywhere. 

His roommate yelped in the background, the sound accompanied by the shattering of glass. 

Right. 

He blinked at the small army of beer bottles on the table, because his roommate liked the aesthetics and felt that it gave him an air of superiority because he drank “classy” beer. 

He wondered if the headache was from the alcohol or from the cramming before his exam. 

“I’m good,” the voice called, before Law had remembered to ask if everything was alright. 

He watched Shachi shoulder his way around Bepo to get the dustpan and broom to sweep away the shame. 

It was 3:07am, in theory if he took a nap from 4:00-6:00 he’d still have an hour and a half to review before he had to make his way to campus for the exam. But that’d be dangerous. If he didn’t wake up, he’d miss the exam. That’s not something he can afford to do. However, it wouldn’t be as bad as taking an exam on an all-nighter. He knew that. He’s transcended beyond his freshman year self. He didn’t pull all nighters with copious amounts of caffeine and sugar to stay awake for exams. No, he learned his lesson. 

Granted it wasn’t his fault that they had a quad of stoners who failed to hotbox properly. No matter how many citations they were issued, the idiots never learned. It drove Law’s already crippled mental health that much further past the point of no return. 

But sophomore year was when he met some of the most insufferable individuals. How he accidentally befriended some of them was beyond him. 

He blinked against the harsh brightness of his phone, the time now reading 3:10. He quickly thumbed through the notifications, cringing at the group chat he’d sworn he’d muted. 

He saw another string of messages that made him frown, and turn his head towards his door, like he was expecting a head of cherry red hair and a deeply scarred, scowling face to crash through his door any moment. He could feel the anger behind the words.

_I’m locked out, buzz me in?_

_Please?_

_Hey Asshole I said please_

_It’s fucking cold_

_There's a whole ass blizzard rn_

_Law you Bastard let me in_

That was 2 hours ago, from Kid, who lived in the same building, on a different floor thankfully. 

And it wasn't a blizzard it was a light dusting of snow. Just because he came from a more tropical climate south of Grandline wasn't Law's problem. He was from the North, so the cold did little to bother him. 

He figured he’d made it inside by now. 

Not his problem. 

Another thread of messages from Luffy made him bite his lip around a laugh. 

He seriously didn’t understand the boy. 

He said boy but Luffy was only a year younger than him. He was like a diamond in the rough, like a jewel with so many facets that the light never reflected his personality the same way twice. 

Luffy had sent him some ridiculous train of thought while getting distracted from his studies. Law knew Luffy wasn’t coping that well being alone, he’d been crashing with their different friends for the last several weeks. 

One of his brother’s, Sabo, was attending a study abroad with his club. _Was it a club?_ Anyway they were doing some sort of grand tour of Europe. Keeping track of where they were was near impossible. His other brother, Ace had been taking on more responsibilities in his club, working his way up to a leadership position under the eye of Whitebeard, their mentor.  
  


Law never really understood the school’s ridiculous emphasis on the cult like clubs they hosted. It made the Greek life on campus look innocent and naive. It was almost like some of their clubs were sanctioned gangs. Actually it would make a lot of sense if they were. That would explain so much. 

Once upon a time ago, Law too had allegiance to one of those groups. Not thoroughly understanding what he was a part of. He was so mad at the world, dying of a rare disease that had nearly eradicated his home off the map. Even now there are very few Fleevance survivors. Law had turned to Doflamingo’s group because they were recruiting children in the community. 

The Grandline attracts a lot of people, it’s like a whole new world, no one cares who you were before you got there. The entire city is a sprawling labyrinth with more streets than stars in the sky, there's so many districts that they all have their own area codes. 

So when he rolled in after stowing away, and hitch hiking his way away from his past he found himself under the guidance of Doflamingo and his bizarre family. 

It was a dark time, Law didn’t enjoy dwelling on.

Law shook his head slamming his book shut with more force than was necessary. His gross anatomy textbook could wait until the morning. 

* * *

His head was killing him

His professors definitely didn’t need to go that hard for the exam.

Law had his doubts that they actually knew how much information they were asking them to study. If you’re testing them on about seven chapters worth of information but pulling only the “non-essential” pieces from the chapters rather than the basic overall concepts just to see whether someone spent the $200 on the textbook, that's just cruel. He hoped they realized they were all broke as fuck college students who could barely afford tuition and rent and enought for basic necessities that textbooks were low on the priority list. Especially when as underclassmen they assign you books that cost a fortune and you use them once. Of course the higher the course level and more specific the class the less likely it is that someone has already uploaded a .pdf of the book somewhere. 

Law could hear his headache getting worse. Luffy and his friends were always loud. It was a library and they did not understand that that meant quiet. He could only hope that it was because they hadn’t headed into the soundproof study room that they usually reserved. 

Turning the corner he saw the group making a mess of the table, laptops and textbooks pushed aside so that Zoro and Luffy could arm wrestle. He groaned and pivoted on his heel, backtracking to that tempting coffee shop that you could smell from two floors away. 

Law’s eye twitched when he saw who was working this particular shift. It was 2pm on a Thursday and that normally meant he could avoid one of the phantoms of his past. She worked in the morning because she tended to have other obligations later in the evening. 

Unlike most universities out there, the clubs this school had were ridiculous, less greek life and parties, and more closely resembling gangs, more brotherhood BS, and dare Law say cults. 

The clubs were sanctioned by the school, headed by mentors who were normally faculty, or students with high academic standing and a mountain of credits under their belts. The clubs also had some involvement in the community, opening their doors to other like minded individuals. 

And blinking at him from behind the counter under ridiculously long, curled lashes was one of said ghosts from his past. 

“Is that you, Law?” She’d changed, granted he hadn’t really interacted with her since childhood when they were scouted by one of the schools mentors’ for their “club” but they’d bumped into each other enough on campus now that she could recognize him. 

He did stand out like a sore thumb sometimes. Vitiligo wasn’t always well received. It made him different, made him stand out. It was a lingering side effect of the illness he’d carried as a child. One he didn’t know if he’d survive. When he was younger after… well after _it_ happened, he’d tried to convince himself that the white patches of skin were like battle scars, each one meaning he made it, that he’d survived. He’s also realized that tattoos, especially as harsh as some of the ones he has are enough to make people look away. 

Law chewed on the inside of his cheek, she’d make a scene if he left, so he begrudgingly continued up to the counter on his quest for coffee. 

She puffed out her cheeks at him when he didn’t say more than a simple _hi_.

“You wound me Law,” already reaching for the largest size cup they had, before turning to the espresso machine.

“Please, we do this every time. You do realize how awful it sounds for me to come up to the counter and say ‘Hey, Baby’ Does that not sound at all like sexual harassment to you?”

She huffed a laugh, eyes dancing. 

“Awww don’t be like that,” 

“I’m not falling for it,” He declared, pulling out his card. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Sure,” She husked, popping the lid on his coffee before racing into the case for a treat. 

His nostrils flared with barely contained frustration as she passed him the pastry. 

“Yeah, yeah, you hate bread, this isn’t for you though. Give it to your boy to-”

“It’s not like that,” he hissed, snatching it up regardless. 

“You’re not fooling anyone, Law. You forget that I know you. You treat him differently, you look at him like he’s-”

“Bye,” He shouted, cutting her off, retreating to the study room they had for the next several hours. 

* * *

He didn’t bother to greet any of them, but pulled out a chair, slid the bag across the table to Luffy, and just let himself exist in the chair for a couple moments. 

“Thanks Trao,”

He hummed in acknowledgement, trying to hang on to that peace, just a fraction linger. 

“You look like shit,” Nami mused, her perfectly manicured nails tapping away at her phone. Probably texting her girlfriend. He caught a glimpse of walls of emojis. Definitely her girlfriend.

“Thanks,” Law said gruffly. 

“How’d you exam go?” Chopper asked bright-eyed. Law liked the kid, he too had a physical stigma that made people tend to avoid him, to see him as something different. Chopper was also studying medicine, Law actually gave the kid his old med books he wouldn’t need so that Chopper could get ahead and not have to kill himself with the cost. 

“What if I just quit everything. Like, what if I just packed my bags, changed my name, and moved to Vegas to become an exotic dancer,” 

Sanji choked on his own coffee, while Zoro just snickered. 

“Or maybe I’ll become a merman, do those underwater casino shows,”

“But you suck at swimming,” Luffy said confidently. Law bit back the petulant “ _you do too_ ” and instead said, 

“Good then if I drown no one save me, I’ll finally get some sleep.” fighting the itch to scribble DNR on the back of his hand. Or just in that Gothic tattoo font across his forehead.

“Oi,” Franky started, caught between being concerned and laughing. 

“That good huh?” Robin asked, a soft knowing smile on her lips. 

“I swear I could teach the class better than the professor. Like he’s just up there on his soap box crowing at us about how distinguished he is and boasting about his research and knowledge. I would never have signed up for the class, I pay to learn, to learn relevant useful information, not for his life story. Too bad it’s a graduation requirement.”

Luffy laughed around the avalanche croissant. The thing spewing chocolate out the sides. Law knew Luffy would have preferred something with meat, like the carnivore he is, but Luffy would eat anything. The kid has an emergency stash of slim jim’s in his bag to munch on at any given moment. A habit he picked up from his brother, Ace. 

Ace is Law’s age, but Ace stayed in the area because of his ties to Whitebeard. He’s apprenticing under the man, doing god knows what. Luffy’s other brother isn’t due to return from his studying abroad for another couple of weeks. He’s studying some sort of international relations and stuff and works a lot with a variety of “problem” communities. It's funny how different all the brothers are, but where one dims, the others shine. They balance each other out in a weird, but oddly complementary way. 

“I’d take one of Trao’s classes,” Luffy said, puffing his cheeks out at the abrupt laughter. 

“You wouldn’t understand a thing that’s going on,” Nami sighed, tossing a section of her fiery red hair over her shoulder, tucking her phone away before propping open a book on fiance. 

“So,” Luffy defended. Law recognized the look. 

“You all realize he’s smarter than you give him credit for right?” 

Luffy’s eyes shone with gratitude. 

“There are several different types of ‘smart’, too.” Robin’s voice echoed.

“I mean look at Zoro,” Sanji cawed.

The jab had the intended effect, the green haired man growled, slamming his textbook shut, before swinging it to the side to smack into the other.

“Oi,” Usopp called, eyes scanning the surrounding area for the librarians that patrolled the study areas. “Unlike you heathens I actually have work to do,”

“Oh yes, because marketing is such a hard major,”

“Hey,” Usopp defended. He was a double major in fine arts as well. This particular art history class was slowly leeching away his remaining will to live. 

“If anything I think Sanji’s major is the easiest.” 

“I’d like to see you up before the sun rises you-”

Brook’s unique laugh drowned out the fight. 

“It’s only a few weeks into the semester and it already feels like midterms.”

“That's because this school is full of dramatic bitches,”

“That there is an understatement,” Zoro scoffed, before ducking behind his textbook, when Tashigi walked by.

“What’s the deal with you two?” Law asked curiosity, getting the best of him.

“She’s cursed, she’s a curse. A jinx. Nothing good ever happens to me when she’s near.”

“Isn’t she part of the Kendo club with you?”

“Unfortunately,”

“Oi, guys look at what Sabo just sent me,” Luffy called, gathering everyone's attention again. 

“Where is he now?” 

“Europe?” 

“Are you asking us or telling us?”

“Yes,” 

Nami rolled her eyes, tilting Luffy’s screen to see through the shattered glass. 

“Luffy, do you want me to replace your screen again?” Franky asked.

“Would you really do that?”

“Yeah,” The blue haired male responded, cringing at the screen. Luffy was notorious for breaking phones. Boy could never own an Iphone. 

“Hey Law?” Chopper asked, after admiring the flower field in the Netherlands, “You took biopsych already right?”

“Yeah,” 

“Can you help me with this chapter? There's waaaaaay too many neurotransmitters to memorize here.” 

“Sure,” Law took the book from Chopper, swiping one of the discarded pens off the table. 

* * *

There were only four of them left by now. 

Luffy balanced the pen on his lip, scrunching his face to trap it by his nose, giving him a faux mustache. He was stretched out across the table, making faces at Law and Brook. 

The music grad student was working on some sort of complex looking melody. Law wouldn’t even pretend to understand music. The only other person there was Sanji who was currently packing his bag to head to work. 

“Why do you all have to work?” Luffy whined. 

Sanji just rolled his eyes ruffling Luffy’s hair before standing and cracking his back. 

An alarm echoed throughout the space and Law blinked, fumbling to turn it off. He had an hour to make it back to the apartment and get ready for work, or was it his other job.

He swiped open his calendar app squinting at the navy blue banner. EMT it was. 

“Are you going to drive the ambulance tonight?”  
  


“I hope not,” Law sighed.

“Haaa?”

“I don’t like driving it,”

“Really?”  
  


“Really.”

“But you like saving people?”

“Of course,” Law said, beginning to pack his stuff up, nodding to Sanji as he slipped out the door. 

There was a rustling to Law’s right.

“Awww no, Brook you’re leaving too?”

“Yep, I’m afraid it’s about time for me to go too. A student is coming by for piano lessons later.”

“Is the recital that soon?”

“It's the first of many,”

“Ohhhh,” Luffy grinned, “Break a leg,” 

Brook laughed but nodded. 

“Can I go home with Trao?”

“What? Why?” Law asked. He was running behind. 

“Ace has been spending a lot of time away from home, and Sabo’s in Europe, and I’m alone.” Luffy whispered. 

Law was tempted to decline, but said, 

“Sure, why not. But you have to leave when I go to work.” 

Luffy’s smile was blinding as he shoved everything into his bag. Law cringed when he saw how bent the notebooks were, the poor things crumbling under the weight of textbooks.

“Pick up takeout on the way?” Luffy pleaded, big brown eyes sparkling. 

Law rolled his eyes, but they both knew the answer was yes.

* * *

“So then I was-”

Law felt the air rush from his lungs, he felt the ice in his veins as Luffy hung off his shoulder. 

“Trao?”

“ _Trao?_ ”

_“Law!”_ Luffy shouted crouching in front of him. 

Why was he crouching? Wait Law was crouching too. 

“Shit,”

“No, I’m sorry Trao, I got excited and I forgot, I’m sorry,”

Law waved him off, standing again. 

He didn’t handle physical contact well. It was one thing when he was conscious and aware of it. If he was expecting it. That's why the medical profession worked for him. He had moments on calls with the ambulance company he worked with where people unexpectedly touched him but normally he could dodge, or deflect. He could bear the roiling waves of nausea that churned in his gut. It was more of the “affectionate” touches that sucked the air from his lungs, left him in a state of panic and shock. It’s rooted in a few issues that are less than unsavory.

“I’m okay,” he breathed more to himself than to Luffy. He knew Luffy was a tactile person, knew he was easily excited. He knew he didn’t mean it. But it still hurt, feeling that weak and powerless. It’s been years since he was freed from Doflamingo's reign of terror, from the abuse and the… yeah. 

Luffy held his container of fries out for Law. A peace offering of sorts, because if there's one thing Luffy rarely did, it was offer someone some of his food. Law blinked, taking said peace offering and thanking him, before reassuring him he’s alright. It’s not the worst attack he’s had. 

It was early enough that they could cut through Sabaody District, one of the roughest, and most lawless areas of the Grandline. All sorts of questionable shit happened here. Law cringed walking past the stores. 

He didn’t understand how some of them were allowed to operate. How could the government let these things stay open. 

It’s essentially a slave trade district. They sugar coat it and gloss over it on paper but that’s really what this district is. They avoid eye contact with anyone. Keeping to themselves and making their way to the other side of the district. 

Law knew they were both strong. He had years of Kendo experience under his belt, but couldn’t stay a full time member now that he was a graduate student. He still practiced, joining a different club that didn’t meet as frequently as the school club did. He’d also been trained by Cora-san in a wide variety of fighting and self-defense skills as a child. He’d honed those reflexes over the years. 

Luffy had grown up in one of the more rural districts east of the Grandline. He and his brothers, though not fully related by blood, had grown up in a corrupt village. Raised by the lawless “bandits” thieves that operated outside of Goa’s strict hand. They were fighters as a result, rough hewn. 

Law’s training made him freeze. There was no way in hell he’d forget the man exiting one of the shops in front of him. Not after his past. What he made him do. What he did to him. 

The man’s grin turned crooked and sly, like a cat cornering a mouse. 

“Law,” he purred. 

Law hated that he froze. There were too many thoughts and emotions running through his head. Painful memories he’d spent years trying to bury fighting their way to the surface. 

The man chuckled, obviously amused, he stood close enough that the smell of his cologne clogged Law’s nose, the ridiculous pink feathered coat making Law’s face itch. 

He could hear Luffy’s feet scuffling, next to him, the boy being held by Trebol, if Luffy’s sounds of disgust were anything to go by. 

“Funny, I picked you out of these slums years ago, to think you’d show your face back here. But they always said that slaves wander home. It might take years but it all comes full circle. 

_This_. This was why Law hated this district more than anything. Because as a child who’d run out of options and resources he was smuggled into the shop and pawned off into service. A contract done without his will, against everything in his being. Seeing what some of the people went through, how thoroughly broken and tired they were. 

Doffy traced his fingers over the brand on Law’s back, a place that despite how many layers Law uses to mask it, Doflamingo knows his mark is there. The one he branded into him after mere days of being in his presence. One that he seemed to feel he needed law to remember at all times. Whatever laws exist here extended outward into the grandline, and it’s illegal to rebrand someone. Tattoo shops won’t cover it up. He’s tried. He’d pleaded. But the answer was always the same. 

“You haven't seen the last of me my pet,” Doffy cooed, hands roving over Law, before making their point, groping and squeezing. Law felt like he was going to throw up. He could hear Luffy’s shouts muffled by Trebol. 

“But, my dear Law, I have other, more pressing matters to attend to,” He stepped past Law, giving his backside a firm squeeze before stalking down the street like he owned it. It wouldn't surprise Law if he did.

“Law,” Luffy whispered, stepping in front of him, hands hovering but not touching. 

“Let’s leave,’ he whispered, voice small and meek, but his hands were shaking. His heart was thundering against his ribs. His vision was rapidly shifting between tunneling and whiting out. 

“Okay, okay,” Luffy breathed, though it was with barely contained rage. 

Luffy was one of the few, very few, people Law had ever fully explained his past too. Because Luffy was one of the only people who saw him as another human being. He embraced all Law’s faults and shortcomings and no questions asked. He wasn’t the boy with weird skin, the freak with a disease, he wasn’t the murderer with the scary tattoos. He was Trao. 

Luffy had sworn to kick Doffy’s ass from the Grandline to Impel Down, the largest and most secure Prison in the Grandline. But Law had made him promise not to, he’s already lost enough thanks to Doflamingo. Luffy had promised that if they ever faced Doffy it would be the both of them together. 

Doflamingo was a different breed of cruel. Even being a medical student Law still couldn’t distinguish whether or not Doffy was more of a psychopath or a sociopath. Granted that's more of a psychology background that he doesn’t have. But from what little he did know, Doflamingo meets a lot of qualifying characteristics of both. Narcissism too. It might just be easier to say APD, a more inclusive term for what he is. 

“Are you going to be alright at work?” Luffy asks, gaze ahead, a woman with green hair walks past them, downtrodden and sad. The merchandise marker clear around her neck. Luffy balls his hands into fists at his side, but lets his eyes trail after the girl, something strangely familiar about her. 

“I’ll manage, I always do.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” 

“No, but the world is cruel and dark. It’s unfair, but it’s life,”

“I refuse to accept that.” Luffy declared shoulders sagging with relief once they made it out of Sabaody. 

“Let’s just get back, it's going to be a long night.”

“Milkshakes first,” Luffy declares. 

Law shoots him a disbelieving look, on the verge of passing out from all the anxiety still coursing through his veins. His stomach heaves violently, not a fan of food at the moment. 

“Trao is upset, whenever Sabo is upset we give him ice cream that seems to help. So it’ll help Trao too.”

Law just gestures ahead of himself, a “lead the way” kind of move. 

Luffy’s pleased giggle thaws Law’s frozen heart, even if it’s just a little after that encounter. 

It’s progress. He didn’t piss himself on sight which he supposed was a good sign. He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep or breathe normally tonight but that would be a problem for future Law. 

For now, he’d enjoy his sickeningly sweet milkshake in a mystery flavor because he didn’t pay attention to what Luffy ordered him.

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of Law's past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this chapter is dark.  
> Theres mentions and hints of genocide, sexual assault, rape, PTSD, anxiety, panic disorders, and character death. Please please please don't force yourself to read that if it makes you uncomfortable or upsets you.

Law blinked at the figure in front of him. 

  
The girl tiled her head, her pigtails, brushing against the collar of her pastel yellow dress. The one Law remembers getting before the big festival, the one she’d been begging for. 

The girl had his mother's hair, a rich chestnut color that complimented her sun kissed skin. Her piercing eyes, his father's eyes, Law’s own eyes, were bright in the dim antechamber of his mind. 

She giggled, before sprinting towards him. 

Law watched as Lami and his past self ran through his memories. Ones of his now gone home town, of the glory of Flevance prior to the known horrors of the amber lead syndrome. 

As children they’d been close, incredibly so. He was her big brother, her protector, but when she suddenly collapsed that day at the festival, Law hadn’t believed that it was the beginning of the end. 

He watched as his memory turned dark and pained. 

He watched as his mind replayed the Flevance genocide. People from surrounding territories had closed the borders, trapping everyone, even healthy people, and treating them like monsters. 

_The issue with Amber Lead was that due to the constant mining of it, there were already particles in the air, ones that could travel for miles and miles. The lead was also used as a finish and a foundation for a lot of things, even outside of Flevance. A later study by the government found that Amber Lead was incredibly poisonous, but due to the amount of it in circulation the damage was already done. Despite the call to stop mining it there were some rogues who damned the consequences and continued to mine for the material._

_In Flevance even though the main mining of it had stopped there were still objects made of the lead that were circulated in daily use. Unfortunately, Amber Lead also could be transmitted to offspring. For example if your great grandfather mined the lead years before they began to outlaw it for health complications, it’s already in their system. It then gets passed on to the next generation, the complications taking from the later end of their life span. It continued on and on, until the current Flevance generations weren’t expected to make it past their thirties._

_There wasn’t a known cure, so Law’s parents, as doctors, were putting their all into it. Even before the illness had hit close to home, they were searching. The illness has a silent start once it begins its course. In some it can lay dormant for years, before appearing decades later._

_A slight dry cough, one that could be attributed to a number of things, a small insignificant thing easily overlooked. At points it even resembles the common cold. But once the later stages set in it’s only a matter of time, due to the fact that there is no cure, it’s deemed fatal. There are means of treating the symptoms and providing temporary relief to aid the quality of life but as soon as the hypopigmentation sets in, it’s too late. Watching the tail end of someone’s life is always awful, seeing the once healthy person waste away into a shell of their former self is something you never forget, or ever really recover from._

_His little sister, no older than eight, with her whole life ahead of her, broke Law in ways that even Doflamingo, at his worst, could never compare. Watching what happened to his once flourishing town, losing everyone as soon as he did, the way he did._

_He remembers the night where Flevance was standing on the precipice of hell itself. The night that was full of pain and sorrow, and mournful screams. The metallic tang of blood mixing with gunpowder. The raging fires and explosions as the government finally decided to eliminate Flevance once and for all._

_The government didn’t care about sickness or health. They didn’t care about male or females, about elderly or children. No they came in guns blazing like the innocent citizens of Flevance were moving targets at one of their training drills._

_He had been with one of the sisters of their local church, who’d been rounding up the children caught in the middle of the raids. She had been begging for asylum for the children, to let them leave and be free of the horrors. Apparently there was a partial deal reached but that didn’t matter, not when Law realized that the government dogs had been racing to the hospital. The one his parents worked at. The one where his sister was being kept. The one with a bunch of innocents fighting varying stages of Amber Lead poisoning._

_He raced as faces as his smoke filled lungs would let him. His family was inside. The men in the hazmat suits brandishing flamethrowers began their rounds on each of the floors. Law took the stairs two at a time, launching himself to the floor his sister was on. He knew his parents needed to worry about the others so he’d protect Lami._

_Law tried not to pay attention to the blood that Lami had coughed up over the gown she was in. The way it had dried and cracked on her skin as she fought to tilt her head up to look at him. The wet rattling of her breathing raising in volume as Law began moving the IV solution bags, careful of the wiring and tubing. He slipped the oxygen mask from her nose carefully carrying her to a nondescript location that they could hide without being nothing but a pile of ashes after the government finished its mission. He backtracked to find a spare oxygen canister, when his foot slipped. The electricity had already been hit, the lights flickering between excessive brightness and darkness, some of the wiring had sparks flying, much like the fireworks in one of their many festivals. He felt the substance, sticky on his leg, painting him crimson as he turned his head towards the source. Laying there riddled with bullets, Law’s parents stared at nothing, their chests not rising or falling, their gazes sad and distant as they faced each other. Law could feel the bone deep shuddering working its way through his body, his breathing coming fast as he dove between them, hand trembling as he laid it over their too cold skin._

_Sitting in their blood Law bit his lip, returning to his mission of finding help for Lami. She was all he had left. Wiping furiously at his tears he swiped the rings and necklaces off his parents. Their wedding bands, a memory for him and Lami of the kind and determined parents. The ones that pushed them to be the best, to have the drive to overcome adversity. The necklaces were of a different manner. They were something Law grew up memorizing. He remembers when he was sleepy, fighting his exhaustion and blinking his eyes open against his mother's side, fingers holding tight to the pendant around her neck, the carvings forever etched into his muscle memory. Lami too had done the same._

_Law raced out of the building, reaching Lami just before the entire building burst into flames. The blast wave knocking his feet out from under him. He was thankful to not have shrapnel embedded in his skin, but the half sob brought him back to the present. Lami watched with glazed over eyes, as the building burned._

  
  
  


_He’s not sure how they ended up in the church, well the charred remains of it. The stained glass windows lay in fractured pieces all around them, crunching with every movement. The entire burling was charred save for the cross behind the marble altar._

_Law fixed Lami’s medicines and the breathing mask as he’d been taught by his parents. He found a spare cloth, likely for decor purposes and used it as a pillow, tucking the corners of the tattered hospital blanket around her._

_He grit his teeth, slipping their mother’s necklace around her neck, placing the bands around her finger. They were much too big, but Law saw how she closed her hand around them, silent tears slipping down her face, mixing in with the soot and blood._

_Law put the matching necklace around his own neck, placing his father’s wedding band on the chain as well._

  
  
  


_He doesn’t know how long they sat there. The riots and killing still occurring despite all the carnage already left in their wake. There was a wet rattling sound, different from the agonal sounding breathing Lami had been doing before._

_He saw her face scrunch as her chest shuddered. Lami’s eyes were wide as she fought for air. Her tiny fingers scratched at her throat as she wheezed for air. Law was at her side in an instant. She looked at him with fear and pain in her eyes, the tears beginning anew, as she thrashed against the invisible hands of death._

_“No,” He croaked, voice hoarse._

_She stared at him, muscles tensing. Her mouth began moving frantically as she blinked away her tears._

_“_ No _,” Law tried again, cryin out like it would change what was happening._

_Her lip quivered around a smile as he grasped her hand. She squeezed his hand before she went limp. She stared, with dull eyes, at nothing but the clouds of smoke growing outside the broken windows, fingers still wrapped around Laws._

_Something broke inside law that day, like an entire section of his heart was torn from his body with a heated butcher knife. He never forgave himself for leaving his sister alone in that church. He never forgave himself for surviving the day the government had burned Flevance had burned to the ground_. 

  
  
  


Law shuddered. Even stuck in this hellscape it chilled him to his very core. 

Lami turned to him, blinking her big, golden eyes, sad with wisdom beyond her years, as she brushed her hand against his. Her lips moved around silent syllables, the realization struck Law like a bolt of lightning. His chest constricting to the point of painful, heart thundering in his ears as he felt the tears slide down his face. 

He could remember her laugh. 

But he’d forgotten her voice. 

His hands shook, he thought he might be screaming but the ground fell out beneath him. He was suspended in a free fall into the darker corners of his mind, flashes of painful memories flickering across the walls closing in on him. 

That day he’d wandered too far to Sabaody, the day that the slave shop had slapped a metal collar around his neck, forcibly scrubbed a couple layers of his skin off in a bath before throwing him into the lineup of slaves for auction. 

He could still remember the feeling of that spotlight burning into his skin, the near choking around his fear as they tugged him along by his chained wrists and ankles. He remembers the blinding lights casting the bidders in the shadows. The occasional flare of light glinting off the raised cards of someone raising the bid. 

He remembers the auctioneer calling out astronomical numbers, remembers the way his gut twisted, the way his breathing was labored. He remembers the sickening laugh of his master as they escorted him off the stage to a room. One set aside for masters to thoroughly inspect their charges. 

The entire room was made of dark velvet, the color eating away the dim light, flickering from the chandelier. The flames bounced through the crystals casting the room in a soft orange glow, hints of rainbows on this surface or that.

Law clutched the thin robe tighter around his frail frame. It was all too much, and when the door flew open, two towering blonde men walking inside, Law felt his blood turn to ice. The one with the pink feathered coat turned to the other one, with the clown-like smile painted a deep maroon on his lips, before the man turned to leave Law alone with the pink monstrosity. 

He doesn’t remember much of the verbal exchange they had but he remembers trying to fight, trying to keep the robe pinned closed.

But there he was stuck having to play along with the man in front of him. Pain was an old friend, so the sting of the handprint across his cheek was nothing compared to what he’d seen before ending up here. The man’s deep voice had a strange purr to it when he spoke to Law. A lopsided smile settled across his face as he finally rid Law of the robe. 

Law remembers blinking the frustrated tears from his gold eyes. He was too weak. The Amber lead was starting to get to him, thankfully the white patches hadn’t started appearing yet. Law tried to fight the shaking his body did as the man’s hands began exploring. He felt a finger pressing insistently against him, and couldn’t fight the sob that slipped past his lips. 

The man scoffed, removing his hands, leaning back on one of the over-upholstered couches in the room. There was something predatory in that gaze, something Law was too young to recognize at the time. 

“My name is Don Quixote Doflamingo, you serve me now. I’m not above renaming you but I am curious about what your name is now.” 

Law glared, still trembling, in fear? In rage? He didn’t know but this man felt like oil on his skin, unpleasant and slimy. 

“Alright fine don’t tell me, I’ll have you screaming soon enough.”

The dread settled further as Law thought of the implications of that statement.

“We’ll have fun you and I,” The man purred, tugging Law to sit against his thigh. 

“I have high hopes for you,” Was all the warning he got before the pain registered.

That first time, with the least amount of preparation, Law remembers cursing his reflection in the glass as Doflamingo thrust inside him, that he deserved this for fleeing. For leaving his family behind and not dying with them. 

Law didn’t speak to the rest of the “family” for days after that incident. He knew that others had been in to check on him, but no one dared touch him, especially not after his skin still smells burnt from the brand Doflamingo had given him mere days after being in his care. 

Law resigned himself to live in that dark part of his brain that told him to soldier on. The one that said damn the consequences. He doesn’t like to remember his initial time with the Don Quixote family. All of them were freaks in their own right. 

He supposed that maybe he was destined to be a monster like the rest of them. Maybe this was what his destiny was. 

The chilling promise Doffy had purred into his ear, guiding Law to pleasure him the way he preferred, still sat heavy in the forefront of his mind.

“I’ll train you to become my right hand man in ten years,” 

He wasn’t sure what to make of that. He had already tried to retaliate against the others there, damning the slave collar he had to wear. He’d even stabbed Dolflamingo’s brother Cora-san. 

He wanted his freedom. He’d overheard the others talking, apparently if he served for long enough and if he was satisfactory enough they’d put it toward his total cost, kind of like a blood debt to buy his freedom back. There was no guarantee that it’d work. Doffy had already seemed to take a particular liking to Law. 

Of the other younger members of the family, each of them received different training. Baby 5, a girl with inky black hair and the cheeriest smile law had seen on a child who was bought, was trained in firearms. The girl was already an expert in a wide range of guns. Buffalo was being trained to be some sort of pilot and getaway driver for the family. He could hold his own in a fight, but they were grooming him for getting the family out of bad situations. 

Law was being trained in a few areas. His least favorite was one that the fearless leader seemed content to keep him in. Law had quickly realized the more he fought it the worse it got. It was a war now between him and Doflamingo. It was a battle to see which one broke first. So Law piled all that self-loathing into a new tactic. He was going to out manipulate his master. 

Law knew he was like a puppet bound to Doffy by strings, the man controlling his every move, but he could work with that. Ke could tangle and cross the strings cut some here and there, become a living nightmare. 

So Law let Doflamingo believe he had won. He let him think that he had finally been broken like the perfect little doll Doffy believed him to be. He let himself embrace the role he was playing, began to dissociate between the personalities. He’d dreamt of how to put an end to the Don Quixote family each time Doflamingo used him. He wanted them to hurt as much as they hurt him. 

There was an unspoken routine that they fell into. Law answering Doflamingo’s call when he demanded it. Law made minimal effort to interact with the others. Especially once the patches had begun to appear on his skin. Doffy had beat him to one of the farthest rings of hell for not telling him where he was from and that he was sick, but once the man had learned Law’s case was hereditary he backed off. Law still had the limp days later.

He was leaning heavily against the side of a building when Doflamingo’s brother settled next to him. Law was glaring out at the distant hustle and bustle of the city. Cora-san passed Law a drink, one that seemed to improve electrolytes and energy levels. 

“I don’t need your charity,” 

Cora just stared at him, the expression flat as he shoved the drink into Law’s hands. He pulled out a phone, typing a message to the boy beside him. 

“You look terrible,”

“Thanks,” Law grit out before taking a tentative sip of the drink. His eyes hazy and distant. 

“It’s sick,” A deep voice said, and Law blinked, head turning as he searched for the source. 

There was heavy sigh to his right, “It’s me,” 

And Law shook his head because it couldn’t be Cora-san. 

“Look, you’re one of the only people who’s heard my voice but I can’t stand to watch my brother break you, to see how dead your eyes look. You’ve come close to giving up, isn’t that right?” The man asks, eyes seeming to stare through the thick cotton of his long sleeves, almost accusatory. 

“It is what it is. ‘t’s not like I can do anything about it.” 

“You can,”

“I can’t”

“Fight back,” Corazon demanded, voice tinged with desperation. 

“It’s not worth it,”

“You’re worth more than you think yourself. Life is priceless, you shouldn’t give up on it so quickly.”

“It’s not like I have anything to live for. My family is dead, I’m his toy, and when he tires of me he’ll pay for a new one. Plus the disease will kill me in a matter of months,” 

“What if I told you I knew of a cure.” 

Law narrowed his eyes at the man. There was no way. Even Flevance with all their advanced science and medical knowledge couldn’t find the cure. 

“You’re lying,”

“I’m not.”

“You just expect me to trust you,”

“No, trust is given freely it’s earned. Frankly given the nature of this family I’d think there was something wrong with you if you did just blindly trust me.” 

“I could go and turn you into you brother,” 

“You could try but he hasn’t heard me speak since our parents died when we were children.” 

Law blinked. 

Corazon had lost his parents too? 

It was something they had in common. 

“I don’t know,”

“Think on it.” Was all the man said before standing, patting at the small blossom of fire, burning itsway through his stupid black feathered coat. Law hadn’t even seen him lighting his cigarette. 

  
  


It was bad. Probably the worst night to date. Law could barely move, his body was aching and throbbing with oversensitivity. He could smell blood and burnt skin, his eyes cracked open through the tears clumping his eyelashes together. He was a mess. He felt disgusting. 

That's how Corazon found him. Curled up in a taigh ball, whimpering and filthy. He doesn’t remember much of that night, not the bath where he was carefully and gently cleaned, not the first aid treatment, nor the soft reassuring humming as he was laid in plush sheets and tucked into a plush comforter, on an actual bed for the first time in months.

He remembers crying because for the first time in so long he was safe. 

He missed the look of surprise when he whispered a raspy, “ _ thank you, _ ” before drifting off. 

  
  
  


It was a long time that Law and Corasan were on the run from Doflamingo. Cora-san had called in favors, one of which being to the head of the government that had a large influence over the Grandline city. 

Law had only ever seen Sengoku on the news when he was holding a conference about the city’s affairs or local crimes and stuff. But to know that Cora-san was living a double life to take down his own brother was nothing short of mind boggling. 

It was only months that they were together but it seemed like it had been a lifetime. Unfortunately as Law had learned early on, all good things must come to an end. 

Peace is temporary, pain is inevitable. 

Once again Law was powerless to stop the forces of the world from taking away the only semblance of peace he had. 

Watching the standoff between Corazon and Doflamingo still haunts his nightmares. The echoing blast of the gunshot and the wet splash of Corazon’s blood trickling to the pavement were things that he’d tried to bury forever. They were one of the first things that popped back into his mind when he saw Doflamingo’s sneering face. 

Law had concluded his life would always be a never ending nightmare. It’s why he put up walls and didn’t let anyone close to him. It’s easier to push people away then to let them in and get hurt. 

It’s easy to fear vulnerability. 

It’s why his relationship with Luffy was so complicated. 

The other is a ray of sunshine. He has an endless amount of energy and despite how hard his life has been he always tries to find the positives. They’re like polar opposites, one dark and gloomy and the other bright and cheerful. 

Law has tried to keep the walls up, but Luffy has a way of bulldozing past them. 

He knows that if anything were to happen to Luffy it’d be the metaphorical last straw. Losing him would finally be the thing that breaks him completely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So posting this last week didn't happen.  
> Mid terms suck, I've lost track of the amount of papers I have do weekly for "Zoom" University. I understand that professors want to minimize cheating on tests but I'm taking seven classes, interning and working and I don't feel even remotely human atm.  
> My sleep schedule is so screwed. It'll take all of my winter break to actually right it to normal. 
> 
> I'm not entirely sure when I'll update next, so I hope the long chapter was sufficient. TBH I didn't realize how long this chapter was, even after splitting it into two. [Actually into three parts] You've probably noticed the chapter count go up again. It should be the last time. There are three chapters to go.

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this semi-drafted for a little while now.
> 
> I got distracted from A Fighting Chance and with all the reading and aggressive course work from my professors in the time of semi-remote learning, feat. Zoom University. This is kind of the unnecessary culmination of all that. 
> 
> This was originally supposed to just be a long one shot but then I kept adding to it so now the aim is to wrap this up in three chapters. (Also subject to change) 
> 
> Please let me know what you all think. I'm really not good at responding to comments but I do read every one of them, Kudos and comments inspire me to keep writing.
> 
> ***DM Note: So I've been working on the rest of this (instead of doing my actual assignments because fuck philosophy) but I realized chapter 2 was reeeeealy long and kind of dense. So I'm breaking it up into two chapters hence the change in chapter count. I think I'll have the next chapter out sometime next week. After I survive midterms I should have a bit more time to work on all the stories I write. Also I wanted to add a warning here, even though I'll be adding one when I post the next chapter but CH 2 is going to be dark. Mentions of past character death, sexual assault, rape, PTSD, anxiety, the likes. This is one of my darker story ideas but wanted to let you all know what you're getting into. (CH 2 and 3 will likely be the worst of it). This will have a happy (-ish) ending. ****
> 
> (Also I was thinking about this the other day, what voice do you read this in? is it yours or have you given me a voice without really consciously doing it? ('Cause I'm curious about what you all think I sound like sometimes.)


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